August Recap

First of all, I can't believe August is over. What a month it's been!

August in a wrap.
1. We have started and ended the month with camping trips.

2. I started the Recipe Challenge and it is going well. {I have some results to share with you soon.}

3. I have two new favourite products to share:
                   1-Estee Lauders Advance Night Repair. I use it after I wash my face at night.
                                   It makes my face feel great and I have noticed my complexion is improving.
                   2-Neon Citrine Felicia Ballet Flat by Sam Edelman. I love them so much.
                                   They make me smile each time I wear them.

Sam Edelman's Neon Citrine Felicia Ballet Flat

4. I started My Son's Big Kid Bedroom Design & Makeover. {I'll have more to share on this in a couple of weeks.}

5. Found this cool website called goodreads.com. I must be the only person that doesn't know about this site. My husband and I bought to struggle to find our next great book to read. For a while now, I have been loving the Kindle feature "try a sample" of a book before purchasing because I am able to get a feel for a book. Even with this Kindle feature, I still get overwhelmed with all the selections of books out there so I am hoping this site will help. Good Reads recommends books for you using previous books you have read and loved. I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Weekend!

Simple 10 minute Blueberry Jam

My best friend, whom I have been friends with since we were five, inspired my recipe for this week's blog post. She was telling me that she had gone to a farmers market and the jam there was really expensive for a tiny amount. I then told her that I make my own jam and it is easy and quick, so I promised her I would share the recipe.

The back story to this is recipe is that sometimes when I make pancakes or crepes I want to give it that extra boost of flavour by adding a fruit jam. This inspiration usually happens when I am in the middle of making the batter. The first time I had this spark I didn't have a recipe, but after seeing my Mom and Nan make jam a thousand times I tried to figure it out. I knew I needed berries or fruit, some sugar and a thicken agent and after some tweaking the recipe was born. 

My recipe does not use a lot of sugar because my family doesn't like jam too sweet but you can add more if you like it sweeter.  Today, I made blueberry but it can be any fruit or berry.

Simple 10 Minute Blueberry Jam    

2 cups Wild Blueberries, frozen or fresh

2 tbsp Water

2 tbsp Sugar {or more depending on the desired sweetness}

1 tbsp Corn Starch

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, add blueberries, water and sugar. In a dish, add a splash of water to the corn starch to make a slurry {a fancy word for a thin mixture of water and thicker which enable the jam to thicken without having clumps}. When the berries, sugar, and water comes to a boil, add your corn starch slurry and stir. It should only take a couple of minutes until it thickens. Once the jam is cool, put in an air tight container and store in your fridge for up to a week. 

Additional Flavour Options: Add some lemon zest and juice to your blueberry jam. The lemon flavour adds a brightness to the jam.

Recipe Challenge

So it's been a while since I have written about my adventures with cooking and creating recipes. Believe me I have not forgotten about food, although sometimes for weight loss reasons I wish I could. Summer time is usually too hot to cook or we get too busy to spend lots of time in the kitchen creating. Since it's starting to get cooler and harvest time for a lot fruits and vegetables, I am starting to feel like experimenting again with cooking and baking which lead me to this challenge for myself.

Here's My Recipe Challenge: 

Take a cookbook off the shelf and select recipes I want to try.

Once I compiled my list and made a pact with myself to make each recipe over the next few months.

I'll review each recipe and share with you my findings. I want to look for new dished to expand my repertoire and challenge my skill level. {I know I am being very Julie & Julia but it was a great idea. And here an interesting fact for you: Julia Child & I share the same birthday. I'll share my love for Julia Child another time.}

The cookbook I selected for this challenge is "Food Lovers: Round the World Cookbook". The reason I chose this book is that it a selection of recipes from all of over the world.

My Recipe List:
1. Baba Ghanoush
2. Naan Bread with Mango Chutney
3. Sweet and Sour Chicken Salad
4. Noodle Salad with Meat and Nuts
5. Tandoori Chicken Kebabs with Raita
6. Samosas
7. Beef with Black Beans
8. Lamb Biryani
9. Asian Noodles with Pork
10. Caribbean Coconut Chicken Nuggets
11. Baked Cod with Potatoes, Olives and Tomatoes
12. Paella
13. Brazilian Fish Stew
14. Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
15. Russian Cheesecake
16. Chocolate Souffle
17. Cherry Clafouti
18. Rhubarb and Apple Tart Tatin
19. Mississippi Mud Cake
20. Chocolate Madeleines

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is. I am so excited to get started and share my toothsome discoveries with you.

Boys Bedroom Design Inspiration: Part 1

My Olioboard Inspiration Board. Click Boys Bedroom to check it out and the source list.

As summer is coming to end, I have been thinking about my next design project. Since my son just turned two and is almost ready for a big boy bed, I thought his room would be perfect. 

So right now, I am in the inspiration stage which is the first step in my design process. I am gathering ideas from some of my favourite websites {Pinterest, Olioboard, The Land of Nod, Serena & Lily, Pottery Barn Kids} as well as collecting tear sheets from magazines and catalogues. 

For this project, I want to do a high low design where I put together my dream design without a budget restriction. Once I have my dream design, I will search to find the same pieces or similar pieces on a lower budget.   

Check back to see how I am doing with my Boys Bedroom Project!